Emerge
by Coneflower Adams
Summary: Ralph wasn't the hero of his game, but he did everything he could to try and save it.


_Writer's note: This is a collection of drabbles I'm working on from a prompt table. It's basically me taking the challenge of actually doing a prompt table for once! Most will be hero's cuties, but I'll try to incorporate all the WIR characters! More to come…_

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**Prompt 1: Emerge**

Chaos . Confusion.

That's the only words that described Game Central Station. A troop of Hero's Duty soldiers had rushed the entrance of the game, Fix-it Felix, Jr., armed with blasters and ready to vanquish the cy-bug population that had exploded in the game in a matter of hours.

Felix had helped evacuate the Nicelanders, but his heart leap in his throat when he left behind his wife to fight the cybugs. She screamed at him to leave, saying she'd kill him herself if he didn't, and eventually Felix had to be toted out by one of the soldiers. He could barely think through the agonizing fear for Tamora as he made sure all the Nicelanders were accounted for.

Felix had worried for his wife, but it hadn't crossed his mind as he struggled to break free from the soldier's grasp that his best friend wasn't there with all the other citizens of Niceland.

Ralph was missing.

It hit Felix harder than a pile of bricks Ralph would knock down on his head. He rushed to an exiting soldier, asking frantically if he had seen Wreck-it. _Negatory_ was the answer, and Felix had hoped that maybe – just maybe – no news was good news. Maybe Ralph had escaped without him even realizing it. Maybe the big guy had run off to Sugar Rush to make sure a stray cy-bug hadn't entered there. He could be anywhere in GCS!

The next several minutes ticked by in slow motion, and as more soldiers jogged out of his game, Felix's fears were heightening. An explosion echoed through the hub and everyone in GCS fell silently. Finally, the last soldier emerged and Felix squawked in relief to see it was his sergeant wife. He dashed up to her, yelling her name, but when he stopped in front of her, Tamora's eyes said it all.

His wife wasn't one to show much emotion – at least in public - aside from anger, but there was something not right in her deep blue eyes. Felix grabbed her free hand, ignoring the bluish blood spattered on it. "Tammy?" he said in the smallest voice.

Everything seemed to disappear around them as she bent to one knee, dropping her blaster on the tiled floor of the station. "Felix-" she began, her voice thick as she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Wreck-it didn't make it."

"Are you sure?" he asked slowly, and when Tamora nodded, he felt the contents of his stomach wanting to erupt.

"I tried getting him to leave before it happened, but he was being a stubborn mull and was determined to save the game." She shook her head, trying to hide her emotions through disappointment in Ralph's actions. "Stupid man got himself killed."

"Ralph can't be gone!" Felix huffed, balling fists at his sides. "We may have lost our game, but we can't lose Ralph!" It was as if 30 years of guilt fell upon his shoulders. All that time spent being ignorant of his gamemate's feelings and how Ralph was being treated; all that time of having a happy-go-lucky life while his friend slept in a dump heap; all that time wasted of not getting to know the gentle soul right under his feet. He'd just gained his best friend, only to lose him now.

"No, Tammy!" Felix yelled, stomping backwards, "Ralph had to escape! He had to!"

"Fix-it, listen to me!" Tamora stood straight as a pin, glaring down at him and pointing to the game's entrance. "I saw with my own eyes that Wreck-it got himself killed. He's gone!" Her voice cracked with horrible realization. "Game over!"

All his energy seemed to deflate at her last two words. Felix barely realized he'd been caught by two strong arms, and pulled into an embrace. A gloved hand stroked his hair, his fallen hat forgotten on the terminal floor. He began to cry, hiding his face in the exposed expanse of his wife's neck.

"I know it's hard – believe me, I _know,_" Tamora murmured soothingly into his ear.

There wasn't much time for comfort as a child's voice rang out calling for Ralph. Tamora pulled away, still clutching Felix's arms. She glanced over his shoulder at Vanellope frantically asking about Ralph. "I'm sorry, but there's no time for this right now, Fix-it. I need to do damage control, and Vanellope needs you."

As he was attacked by Vanellope's question, Felix tugged her against him before she could react to the answer. He had to be there for her even if he barely had to strength to stand upright from the pain of lose.


End file.
